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The Douglas, Wyoming Police court records consist of an alphabetical list of defendants and a chronological record of criminal trials. The trial entries include the defendant(s) name, a description of the charges, and associated fees.

The Police Court Docket from Douglas, Wyo., is divided into two parts, a scantily maintained alphabetical register of defendants and chronological records of each trial, including defendant's name, crime, fees, and a description of the charge. The progression of crime in the Territory of Wyoming's early years is apparent.

From 1887 to 1890, the majority of the cases recorded in the docket involved repeat offenders charged with prostitution and the operation of bawdy houses, intoxication, public disturbance, and the brandishing of pistols in public places. By 1890, prostitution had become so routine, that it was penalized by a mere monthly fee of $4.00, and a court fee of $1.00. Angie La Fontaine operated a particularly successful house of ill repute from 1887 to 1899, where May Arms and Jennie Smith, two of the town's most frequent repeat offenders, worked.

The crimes increased with the population, generally resulting in more drunk and disorderly arrests, and other crimes such as procuring whiskey for minors, selling merchandise without a license, assault, street fighting, and indecent exposure; the fines typically remained at a level between $5.00 and 10.00. Among the most unusual cases recorded is one involving a defendant tried for "willfully and unlawfully lead(ing) a worthless and immoral life in the town of Douglas." On June 8, 1908, he was sentenced to 30 days in jail, unless he left town. He left town. These later entries contain occasional postscripts, listing defendants' inability to pay, desire to work off fine, or flight from the town.

The Ephraim Gilman papers relate to Gilman's trial for the murder of Harriet B. Swan of Fryeburg, Maine. Gilman was accused of strangling Swan after she objected to Gilman's affections toward her daughter, Abby F. Swan.

This collection (4 items) pertains to the criminal prosecution of Ephraim Gilman, who was accused of strangling Mrs. Harriet B. Swan of Fryeburg, Maine, on June 17, 1861. Three of the documents are witness testimonies compiled for the Oxford County coroner's inquest on or around June 18, 1861, including statements by Ephraim Gilman, Abby F. Swan, neighbors, acquaintances, and physicians. The statements (64 pages total) concern the events leading up to the murder, the discovery of the body, Gilman's character, and Gilman's relationship with Abby F. Swan. The final item is a manuscript copy of court proceedings from Gilman's trial before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in March 1862, including the prosecution's opening remarks and testimony from witnesses (104 pages, many of which are blank).

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

The Isaac Morehouse and Clara Winters Court Documents consist of complaints, court fees, and warrants relating to two court cases initiated by Mary Morehouse of Silverbow County, Montana, against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, for committing adultery in January 1888.

Mary Morehouse provided two complaints, one against her husband, Isaac Morehouse, and another against Clara Winters, an unmarried woman, swearing that they committed adultery and "the offense of fornication by . . . having carnal sexual intercourse" on January 10 and 24, 1888, in Silverbow County, Montana. The complaints attest that the adultery "is contrary to the form of the statutes of the United States and against the peace and dignity of the people of the United States of America." Caleb E. Irvine, U.S. Commissioner for the 2nd Judicial District of Montana Territory, signed both complaints and provided two accounts for the costs of issuing warrants for arrest and for hearing and deciding the cases. The arrest warrant for Clara Winters is also present, with certification that U.S. Marshal R. Kelley received and served the warrant.

This collection contains depositions from the trial of John Link, who was accused of murdering his stepfather, Samuel Pavey, and stepbrother, Taylor Pavey, in Leesburg, Ohio, in May 1879.

This collection (5 items) contains depositions from the murder trial of John Link, who was accused of murdering his stepfather, Samuel Pavey, and stepbrother, Taylor Pavey, in Leesburg, Ohio, in May 1879.

Martha Pavey, Jennie Pavey, and John Link provided their accounts of the day of the murder and discussed the families' history. According to the testimonies, on the day of the incident, Taylor Pavey had accused his stepmother, Martha Pavey, of slander, and had threatened to whip her and cause her other bodily harm. After Taylor retired to bed, Martha noticed her son John Link walking toward her home. While telling Link of the incident with her stepson, Pavey emerged from the household, leading to a physical altercation between the two men. Samuel Pavey later joined the fray, which ended when John Link fired several shots at Samuel and Taylor Pavey, killing them both. The three witnesses responded to questions from both the prosecution and defense.

• Mrs. Martha S. Pavey's examination (morning session)
• Mrs. Martha S. Pavey's examination (afternoon session)
• Jennie Pavey's examination
• Testimony of John Link (2 items, with some duplicated testimony)

This collection is made up of five documents or drafts of documents pertinent to a coroner's jury called to investigate the discovery of the body of a deceased black man in the Tallahatchie River near Shellmound, Mississippi, September 1887. The documents include an order by Justice of the Peace A. P. Parks for the sheriff to summon a coroner's jury (September 28, 1887), the jury's certification of the death of Harry Taylor (September 28, 1887), testimonies of witnesses providing hearsay about the discovery of two bodies in the river and the role of local black Freemasons in their deaths, a jury statement that the body was that of Harry Taylor and that he'd been killed by named black Masons, and a manuscript account for payment to the jury and others (September 30, 1887).

This collection is made up of 85 documents produced or filed by the Pennsylvania Court of Oyer and Terminer at Lycoming County 1862, 1874, and 1881-1907. It includes warrants, subpoenas, summonses, legal transcripts, financial papers, and other documentation. The defendants in these cases were all women, including at least one teenager. They were accused of crimes including theft of milk, larceny, obtaining goods under false pretenses, poisoning of animals, sexually explicit swearing, keeping a bawdy house, public intoxication, assault and battery, perjury, bigamy, arson, and others.

This collection is made up of 85 documents produced or filed by the Pennsylvania Court of Oyer and Terminer at Lycoming County 1862, 1874, and 1881-1907. It includes warrants, subpoenas, summonses, legal transcripts, financial papers, and other documentation. The defendants in these 20 cases are all women, including at least one teenager. They were accused of crimes including theft of milk, larceny, obtaining goods under false pretenses, poisoning of animals, sexually explicit swearing, keeping a bawdy house, public intoxication, assault and battery, perjury, bigamy, arson, and others.

Please see the box and folder listing below for a complete inventory of the collection.

This collection consists of 24 manuscript items related to State of Indiana v. Luther A. Donnell, tried in the Decatur County Circuit Court in 1849. Luther A. Donnell, an Indiana farmer, was prosecuted for providing assistance to the Beach family during their escape from enslavement in Trimble County, Kentucky. The documents consist of 20 witness summons, the witness testimony of Robert Hamilton and Woodson Clark in the context of the court's proceedings, a summation of the trial proceedings (including the witness testimony of Robert Hamilton), an 1848 grand jury indictment, and one verdict slip.

The collection consists of 24 manuscript items related to the case of State of Indiana v. Luther A. Donnell, tried in the Decatur County Circuit Court in 1849. Luther A. Donnell, an Indiana farmer, was prosecuted for providing assistance to the Beach family during their escape from enslavement in Trimble County, Kentucky. The documents consist of 20 witness summons, the witness testimony of Robert Hamilton and Woodson Clark in the context of the court's proceedings, a summation of the trial proceedings including the witness testimony of Robert Hamilton, an 1848 grand jury indictment, and one verdict slip.

The 20 witness summonses are partially printed documents used to summon witnesses on behalf of the state, plaintiff, and defendant. They span the period of June 28, 1848-March 29, 1849.

One of the written documents is a summary of the trial proceedings. The proceedings include the indictment against Donnell on the basis of Indiana law and the legality of slavery in Kentucky; evidence introduced on behalf of the state; witness testimony for the state and defendant, including that of Robert Hamilton, associate of Donnell; the rendering of a guilty verdict; and attempts by the defense counsel to have the verdict set aside on the basis that the law Donnell was tried under was unconstitutional. Hamilton, who assisted Donnell with the hiding and escape of the Beach family, recounted the events of November 1, 1847, in his testimony, including Donnell's efforts to secure a writ of habeas corpus to search the property of Woodson Clark (who he believed was imprisoning the Beach family). Additional witnesses described seeing the Beach family or persons matching their description on their journey through the county following their rescue by Donnell and others. Woodson Clark's testimony also recounts the events of November 1, including his discovery of the Beach family and his subsequent deceit and imprisonment of them in a fodder house on property owned by his son, Robert Clark. Clark also notes his acquaintance with George Ray including a visit to his home where he had first seen members of the Beach family.

This collection is made up of briefs, arguments, lists of precedents, manuscript form affidavits, and other documents related to the trial of William S. Bergin for the murder of Thomas J. McBride, barkeeper and proprietor of the Bergin House hotel in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on June 15, 1877. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (i.e. he was intoxicated when committing the murder), but the jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. These papers appear to have been compiled by Bergin's defense counsel during the process of seeking a retrial in August 1877.

This collection is made up of briefs, arguments, lists of precedents, manuscript form affidavits, and other documents related to the trial of William S. Bergin for the murder of barkeeper and proprietor of the Bergin House hotel in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on June 15, 1877. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity (i.e. he was intoxicated when committing the murder), but the jury convicted him and he was sentenced to death. These papers appear to have been compiled by Bergin's defense counsel during the process of seeking a retrial in August 1877.

The collection includes two briefs; witnesses' statements about the language used in the confrontation, a 14-page document with statutes on first degree murder and evidence in the Bergin case; a 9-page argument; a list of points made by the plaintiff; and an organized list of precedent cases for drunkenness, homicidal impulse, homicidal mania, insanity with apparent sanity, hereditary insanity, sane today--insane tomorrow, murder in the 2nd degree, and the number of the insane in Ohio.

The collection's 18 affidavits appear to be manuscript forms for Bergin's defense to use in arguing for a retrial. They include several different handwritten forms produced by a clerk. With only three exceptions, the affidavits do not identify a particular individual, leaving blanks for their name and for the date of the sworn statement. Despite their incomplete state, some of these were still signed and stamped by a notary. The incomplete forms include duplicate text focused on different arguments for a retrial. For example, six of the affidavits discredit Sarah Rose as a witness; several of them are sworn statements by jurors that they had already formed their opinions of the case before the trial; and others claim the jurors were allowed to separate into their own boarding houses or mingle with crowds of people without police supervision.

This docket book kept by Justice T. B. Curtis between 1861 and 1887 contains case summaries of various lawsuits related to debt, assault, intent to murder, guardianship, poisoning animals, and other cases in and around Dundee, New York.

This docket book kept by Justice T. B. Curtis between 1861-1887 contains case summaries of various lawsuits related to debt, assault, intent to murder, guardianship, poisoning animals, and other cases in and around Dundee, New York.

The docket book may have been that of Thomas Bennett Curtis (1817-1904), a Starkey, New York, farmer who served for some years as justice of the peace and county associate judge, Yates County, New York, with offices in Dundee.